Nightmares Should Really Stay in the Fade (RE-WRITE)
by Of Quirky Excellence
Summary: (A re-write of my Fenris/F!Hawke fic.) Annabelle Hawke says she'll do anything to protect Fenris, but how little she knows of what lies ahead, especially when she makes a powerful new enemy. Will she triumph over power-hungry Tevinter Magister, and will love and justice prevail? Read to find out! (Several Cameos from Origins in this story too!)
1. Chapter 1

**Nightmares Should Really Stay in the Fade RE-WRITE**

**Chapter One**

**By Of Quirky Excellence**

**A/N: I've decided to see how much I have improved as a writer, and write a new and improved, and **_**darker**_** version of my Fenris/Hawke story. Feedback is and always will be appreciated! :)**

Fenris tossed and turned back and forth in the guest bedroom at the Hawkes' estate. Sweat covered his furrowed brow and tan forehead, and he groaned as he finally awoke from a sleep plagued with nightmares. Annabelle Hawke's sea-blue eyes shot open with fright, as they searched for the source of the sound. She found Fenris's glistening emerald eyes quickly, and they told her everything.

Letting the Lyrium-marked elf stay at her house had been the least she could do after he'd been wounded in battle with a High Dragon and he'd also taken a blow to the head. A blow that had been meant for her. She grimaced as she straightened her posture in the armchair she'd been sleeping in.

Fenris caught his breath after a moment. "Hawke..." he looked ashamed for waking her up, but his expression softened as he spoke to her.

He'd grown fond of her, and she genuinely cared for him in return. It had been three years since that night they'd spent together and things were just beginning to patch up. At first, for a while, Annabelle had avoided him and took her other companions on the various and often exciting errands she'd had to do. But after a while her feelings for the Lyrium-scarred elf had eventually began to return. The topic of that night had never come up again, however.

Gradually, the trust between them, especially in battle had improved tremendously, and the elven warrior and the beautiful human rogue always had each others' backs.

Fenris still had Annabelle's scarlet sash, and even if it wasn't tied to the wrist of his sword arm, he wore it always, somehow. He also kept a small shield with her family crest that she'd given to him strapped to the belt of his armor.

"Are you alright, Fenris? You don't look so good right now." she asked with concern in her voice.

"I...have slept better. Trust me." he struggled to find words to express how he felt.

"I see." she mused. "Bad dreams? Anything you want to talk about?"

"_No._" he said, more abruptly than he'd intended. "I mean, you shouldn't trouble yourself about me, Hawke."

"It is no trouble. What is it, Fenris? What's on your mind?" she asked, her soft gaze reaching his troubled face.

He sighed. "It's just...I have never allowed anyone to get so close. I was always afraid it would only end with them getting hurt, and that would be the death of me." He paused, looking deep in thought. "And so I remain alone."

Hawke looked hurt, but she brushed that aside quickly, knowing he meant no ill-will by it. "I'm here Fenris." she reached over and stroked his hand gently. He winced at her touch, but then he relaxed when she didn't pull away. The elf looked puzzled, but then he grasped her hand and held it.

He let out an even deeper sigh, and said, "It is comforting to know that, but if you ever got hurt-"

She cut him off. "I know _you_ wouldn't hurt me, Fenris."

He shook his head. "I could never harm you...but I admit it, I'm fearful most of the time. Danarius is still out there, hunting for his '_lost property_' and haunting my sleep." Fenris sounded bitter and even more troubled at the mention of his former master.

"_I will not let him take you!"_ Annabelle promised. And she meant it, with all her heart.

"That is why I fear the day we have to face him. It _is _inevitable, however. He will come for me eventually." Fenris frowned at the last statement.

Hawke squeezed his hand. "And don't worry, when he does, _we'll be ready._"

"Thank you, but-"

"Shhh." she hushed softly."Try to go back to sleep, Fenris, you have to rest. Anders said if you don't, your body will be too exhausted to heal."

"Curse that mage." Fenris said with a half-smirk as he lightened up a bit. But then he yawned.

"But he's right, isn't he?" Annabelle asked with a warm smile.

"I suppose so." Fenris said with a roll of his eyes. After a while, thy both drifted off to sleep, their hands still clasping one another and their fingers intertwined.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nightmares Should Really Stay in the Fade Re-Write **

**Chapter 2**

He was quiet, his eyes closed. She could hear his soft, slow breathing and see the rise and fall of his chest as her own eyelids fluttered open. Before she was quite aware she was awake, she could see the scene play out before her eyes, like a distant dream.

_He had pushed her out of the Dragon's reach just in time to take her place. Grateful though she was that it hadn't been her, she'd wished he hadn't felt such a need to protect her, because the brave warrior had been through so much agony already. The colossal beast bit him and shook him, then threw him to the ground. Annabelle had rushed to his side, screaming his name, a mix of horror and disbelief in her panicked voice._

_Merrill had been unable to heal him, but they stopped the bleeding once the dragon was slain by Aveline, thus keeping his condition as stable as they could. The group then faced the challenge of carrying the unconscious elf to Darktown, where Anders' clinic was._

_The mage hadn't been very happy to see Fenris, as the two almost never saw eye to eye, but Anders healed everything he could with his magic, and sewed and bandaged the rest. Hawke had helped, although she was no mage, but she'd previously learned from the experienced healer how to properly clean and dress a wound._

She gently let go of his hand and his face twitched a little, but his eyes did not open. Hawke stood up, and with one final glance in Fenris' direction, she walked out the door of the guest room. Her mother met her outside the door.

"Good morning, dear. How is your…um, friend, doing this morning?" Leandra knew little of Fenris, but from what little she knew, he gathered that the elf was close with her daughter. Quite close.

"I think he's doing a lot better. I'm just glad he wasn't alone." Hawke told her mother. It had been three days since the fight with the dragon, and Fenris had only been conscious for two of them, but he'd been able to sleep soundly only the night Hawke held his hand.  
Leandra nodded. "Good to hear, by the way, while you slept, your friend Merrill came by. She left a note."

"Oh?" Annabelle raised an eyebrow, her blue eyes curious. None of her friends, save for Anders, had come to the mansion since Fenris had been injured. The mage had only come to check up on the elf's wounds, and Fenris had not been very happy about this.

Annabelle walked into the main hall of the estate, and the flower pots and their occupants looked healthy as ever. She chuckled, knowing why before she even read Merrill's note. It was on the writing desk next to one of the pots. It read;

"_Aneth ara, lethallin,_

_I came and watered your flowers for you. While you are looking after Fenris, be sure to remember to take care of yourself. Fenris needs you, and so do the rest of us, Hawke!_

_-Merrill"_

"Aww, that was so sweet of her." Hawke said out loud. There was a knock at the door. Annabelle walked over through the mudroom and towards the front door, and opened it. It was Isabela, Aveline and Varric.

"How is he, Hawke?" asked Varric. Annabelle smiled at her three friends, and invited them into the mudroom.

"He is recovering, although I'm not sure how much company he'll want today, he's been through quite the ordeal." she replied as her friends stepped in.

"So we've all heard. The poor elf took quite the beating." Isabela said.

"Indeed." Annabelle's stormy blue eyes grew sad and filled with hurt. "It should have been me, Isabela, not him!"

"Don't worry Hawke. He's strong, and he will recover. He also stopped the dragon from hitting you with full force. Fenris saved your life." Aveline said wisely.

"That's…one way to look at it." Hawke replied softly. "He finally slept soundly last night, " she added, slightly more cheerful in her tone.

Varric and Isabela glanced at each other, both smirking. Leandra came to greet her daughter's friends, and Varric asked, mischievously, "How do you know? Did he tell you, or did you…um…" he paused awkwardly as Leandra glared at him.

The older woman frowned. As far as she knew, the elf had broken her daughter's heart, and she shot Annabelle a disapproving glance.

Hawke blushed. "He…told me."

"Honey, you're a terrible liar." Isabela said with a chuckle. Aveline looked at the former pirate sternly.

"You'd be one to talk, whore." said the guard captain.

Hawke sighed. "I was in the room, alright? But that doesn't mean we _did_ anything!"

Varric rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Hawke!"

Annabelle giggled. "_Nothing happened, Varric!"_ Her face was now beet red.

"Fenris?" Hawke called through the open door of the guest room a few minutes after everybody had settled down from teasing her.

"You have some visitors." She approached the bed. Fenris turned his head to face her.

"I must admit I am surprised." he said gruffly. The white haired elf cleared his throat softly.

"Why?" asked Annabelle. "They're your friends, Fenris. We all care about you, you know." She smiled and he nodded in response.

"I suppose I am feeling up to some company. Who's out there?" he asked.

"Isabela , Aveline and Varric." she replied. "Should I let them in one at a time?"

"Sure, but stay with me, Hawke?" he asked, sounding a bit unsure.

"Of course." She smiled and stroked his hand. Isabela came in first.

"How are you feeling, Fenris?" she asked. The marked elf shrugged lightly.

"I've been better," He said softly. "The pain's going away, but it is a slow process.

"I see." she said, pulling some of her dark brown hair back into her bandana and out of her face. "Did you want anything from the market? I'll be going there with Merrill later." She asked.

"No, I appreciate the offer though." he answered. After Isabela left, Aveline same into the guest room.

"Aveline." Fenris greeted the captain of the guard politely, and it was obvious he respected her. She smiled at him.

"You had us all worried, Fenris." She said. "I'm relieved to see you're alright."

"I understand I have you to thank for helping Hawke drive back the beast?" he asked her.

"I struck the final blow," she said simply. "but you did a lot of damage, Fenris. We all owe you, in a way." Aveline smiled again at her fellow warrior.

Varric was the last one to come through the door, and the dwarf seemed happy to see Fenirs was doing well.

"Good to see you're still kicking, broody. It's no fun without you." he said lightheartedly. Annabelle chuckled and Fenris' expression softened significantly.

"Thank you Varric. It's good to see you too."

"I hear you and Hawke are getting quite close." Varric said, pausing knowingly. fenris raised a dark eyebrow.

"I suppose we have…" Fenris said, quite unsure of himself.

Hawke smiled. Varric chuckled, and both Annabelle and Fenris began to blush. Even the tips of Fenris' pointy ears were pink.

**A/N: Okay, next chapter the plot gets darker, for those of you who are into that stuff. Please, review! I love knowing what y'all think! I want to see how I have improved since I wrote the original version of this fic! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Nightmares Should Really Stay in the Fade Re-Write**

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: Sorry for such a long wait, my lovely readers!**

A few hours after Aveline, Varric and Isabela left hawke's mansion, Anders came to check up on Fenris' injuries as Hawke had requested. "You should be thanking Hawke and Aveline for getting you to my clinic when they did, Fenris." Anders told his patient as he re-wrapped the bandages onto Fenris' torso.

The elf nodded in response. "I am in their debt, it seems." he said. He hesitated, but then he added, "And yours."

Anders raised an eyebrow curiously, his amber eyes glistening in the early afternoon sunlight that shone through the red curtains. "_That is unexpected."_

"I mean, you did save my life, did you not?" Fenris asked the blond mage. Anders nodded and he handed the elf's loose tunic to Annabelle, who gently helped put it back on.

She couldn't help but stare a bit at the elf's slender, yet muscular build, and the veins of Lyrium infusions that danced across his torso. They glistened a little, especially if it was dark. She patted the elven warrior's shoulder once his shirt was back on and gently guided him down so his head was back on the pillow.

"I'm impressed with his progress, Hawke. Make sure you let me know if there are any setbacks you can see. I will be back tomorrow, alright?" Anders said.

"Yes. Thank you again Anders." Hawke said with a warm smile to her apostate friend. Then she saw him out.

Fenris' progressive healing was going well for the two days. One day, about a week after Fenris unexpectedly thanked Anders for his help, the elf asked Annabelle a question that surprised her quite a bit.

"Hawke, do you think we can go out for a walk on the Wounded Coast?" Hawke looked at him strangely from across the dinner table. Leandra had gone to help Bodahn and Sandal with the dishes and Annabelle and Fenris were just about done with their drinks.

"You want some fresh air, don't you?" Hawke smiled. He nodded, and she added, "I'll need to bring my swords in case we run into trouble, you know."

"Of course." he said, solemnly. "And with that I should probably put on my armor, and carry at least a dagger. I will not let you fight in my place if I can prevent you from getting hurt."

His request was doable and practical, as Aveline had taken his armor to the smithy to be repaired after the fight with the dragon, but Hawke sighed. "Maker, I _hate _being a woman. Everyone always wants to protect me."

"It's only right that if we're attacked, you're not defending me because I'm unarmed. I…do not wish to use my markings. They're a last resort." he looked pained and a little ashamed at the last statement.

"I suppose you can bring a shortsword, something not too heavy." she pondered. "You're so _chivalrous._"

"Am I now?" He chuckled, and they went into the small armory where Hawke kept her weapons. She put on her light leather armor, gauntlets and boots, then she helped Fenris put on his breastplate. He had to help her find one of the buckles though. Then she gave him one of her longer daggers, one she'd used before she came to Kirkwall.

Then they strapped their blades to their bags and walked out of the estate, holding hands. Leandra called after them. "Don't be too long, you two! Be back in time for tea!"

"Yes mother!" Belle replied. "I love you!" she looked back at Leandra, smiling. Little did Hawke know that was the last time she'd ever see her mother alive.

As they passed through the garden they walked faster, both eager to see the sunset on the Wounded Coast.

They exited the city gates, and then they walked along the beach, but it was only moments before Fenris spoke up.

"Something doesn't feel right, Hawke. " He said nervously, looking behind him. Annabelle looked back too, but all they could see or hear was a flock of scavenging seabirds picking at an unrecognizable carcass. Turning back to Fenris she tried to sound sure of herself.

"Nobody's here, Fenris." she didn't sound very convincing, even to herself.

"Why do I feel like somebody's watching us, then?" he asked. Annabelle looked all around where they were standing but all was quiet and still.

"It's quiet. Too quiet." She said, her blue eyes narrowing. The wind picked up and her low ponytail came untied, releasing her golden blonde hair into her face. Tying it back again, she saw out of the corner of her eye, that the scavenging birds were taking flight, cawing, as if raising an alarm.

Then an arrow whizzed by, flying right in between Annabelle and Fenris. Hawke gasped and drew her swords, and Fenris' markings lit up as he unsheathed his dagger.

Slavers surrounded them now, weapons drawn. "Take the elf," commanded a large warrior who appeared to be in charge.

"What about the girl?" asked another man, wearing a helmet and carrying a shield with a crest on it. Fenris growled when he saw it.

"_Vishante kaffas!" _he snarled bitterly.

"Bring her before the Master. He shall decide the fate of the one who stole his pet." said the head warrior, putting his helm down over his face and flexing his massive arms, one of which held a huge mace, and the other, a massive shield.

**A/N: Longer than I thought, will update again soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Nightmares Should Really Stay in the Fade Re-Write**

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: Wow, I actually updated in a timely fashion! (Said no fan fiction writer ever!)**

Fenris let out another shout, something Hawke could not understand, and that she'd never heard him say before in Arcanum, and then charged the slaver, ready to kill. The leader of the group dodged the elf's ferocious attack, and then swung his own long sword, missing Fenris by inches. Two more slavers tried to grab Hawke, but she knocked one of them over and badly wounded the other with the sword in her right hand.

Another archer tried to aim for Fenris but the elven warrior was moving much too fast, taking out slaver after slaver, in desperation to protect Hawke and himself. But more kept coming, and fighting. Te Champion of Kirkwall was bruised now, but far from defeated. She was a rogue and a seasoned fighter, and it took a lot to bring her down.

But then, along came a woman, with black hair and icy, cruel blue eyes. Six slavers remained, but the black haired woman smirked as Fenris saw her and recognized her.

"_Hadriana._" he snarled. Annabelle was managing to hold back the rest of the slavers now and Fenris were back to back.

"Stop!" cried the head warrior, one of the last slavers standing. "Fall back and let the mistress deal with this lot!"

It was now that Hawke turned slightly to face the woman she'd heard little about, other than her cruelty and that she was Danarius' apprentice, and now a magister too. The robed woman began to cast a spell and Fenris let out a pained cry as she let it loose. It was a powerful shock spell, and the elf struggled to keep his footing, as the pain shot through his body in quick pulses.

"_Fenris! No!_" Annabelle watched in horror as he fell to the ground, barely conscious and twitching. She froze as another mage entered the fray. Fenris was only a few yards away now, if only she could get to him…

The other mage looked at least twenty years older than Annabelle, with grey hair, and a thick grey beard. His eyes were blue grey, a cold, and cruel expression on his face.

Fenris recovered quickly, or at least faster than Hawke thought he would. His markings pulsed violently, and he was standing before Hawke could think to plant herself between him and the mages. There was recognition, as well as pain, in his facial features, and he whispered something, and Hawke knew that moment who the other mage was, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Fenris, we have to get out of here!" Annabelle cried.

The two mages smirked at each other and the older mage began to cast a spell.

"And let them flee as well?" Fenris asked, refusing to back down. He picked up the dagger quickly as adrenaline kicked in, then tried once more to reach the mages. His blade was feet away from the throat of the man he hated so much when the spell zapped from the mage's fingertips towards Fenris, and sent the elf stumbling backwards, nearly bumping into Hawke as he staggered to regain his footing.

"A fine attempt, my pet, but that will be quite enough." said the mage calmly.

"Shut your mouth Danarius!" Fenris roared. Hawke charged forward towards Hadriana and lacerated the mage's belly, interrupting the spell she was brewing. Her cry alerted Danarius, who did not bat an eye. Instead, he frowned.

"Now, Fenris, is that any way to greet your master?" he cast another lightning spell on Fenris, stronger than the one Hadriana had cast and it knocked Fenris to the ground. Hawke stopped dead in her tracks, not worrying about the other mage, whom she'd injured badly.

Danarius looked her in the eye. "You've made quite a big mistake, my dear." he said, and odd calmness still lingering in his voice. Fenris was not stirring, she could see out of the corner of her eye. She knew he was hurting but she had to put her worries aside now and try to be diplomatic.

"I stand by my decision, Danarius…" she began.

"You are compassionate. A rare trait, and also a fatal one." the magister stepped towards Fenris. Hadriana was out of the picture almost completely, as she had begun to heal herself. Hawke paid her no mind, at that moment.

"Don't you touch him, you filthy blood mage!" she cried, planting herself between Fenris and Danarius.

Fenris lifted his head weakly. "Hawke…Annabelle," he managed. "Get out of here. Run while you still can!"

Hawke shook her head stubbornly. "Never." her eyes didn't leave Danarius' face even though she grew more and more angry the more she stared at him. This man had done so many terrible things. And he had to pay. And she wanted to make him pay dearly.

"Hawke-" Fenris began.

"Death first!" Hawke cried boldly.

"Ah, well that cannot be, I'm afraid." said the magister. Hawke watched as he stepped closer, with a defiant gleam in her eyes. "That would be too simple a punishment for all the anguish you've caused me, dear girl."

This struck a nerve. Annabelle's anger was evident in her voice now, as she spoke, her body quivered, not knowing what was stopping her from using her swords. She was frozen, but she could speak. And she did. "What about the nightmares Fenris had?!" she snapped. "Does that not qualify as anguish?"

"An eye for an eye." he said coldly. Hawke spat in the magister's face. But then she felt pressure on her side, a sharp blade cutting right through her armor, and Hadriana had a death grip on the blonde rogue's shoulder.

The former apprentice had finished healing herself and was now at Annabelle's back. "If either of you move, it goes in." said the robed woman.

"Hawke." Fenris said with a hopeless, defeated look in his green eyes.

"No. _I won't let them take you!" _Hawke cried, but she was running out of options, and Hadriana's blade pierced all the way through her armor now and she felt it poking her skin painfully. She hissed, and Fenris said her name again softly.

"Drop you swords and we let you both live." Danarius demanded.

Fenris nodded to Hawke. "Annabelle, it's not worth it, just do it." The first of many tears trickled down Hawke's cheek but she let one dagger drop next to Fenris's feet, and the other she threw a distance away and one of the armed soldiers cried out as it hit his belly, killing him almost instantly. Fenris squirmed at her feet, trying to sit up.

Satisfied with the fact that she'd killed at least one last enemy, Hawke relaxed slightly. Danarius whistled and his men came hustling over.

"Get her to the ship," he told the head warrior. "My apprentice and I will restrain my pet and then we shall join you. Make ready to sail.

**A/N: Ok, who caught the Princess Bride reference in this chapter? ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Nightmares Should Really Stay in the Fade Re-write**

**Chapter 5**

The warrior grabbed Annabelle's arm roughly and wrenched it behind her back until she cried out. Fenris tried to stand up, but Hadriana pinned him down with her foot. The head slaver they'd failed to kill clapped a manacle on each of Hawke's wrists, chaining her hands tightly behind her back using much more force than necessary.

Then she sobbed a little as he gagged her with a piece of cloth, and started to lead her away. She kept trying to turn and look back at Fenris, the gag muffling her screams and cries, but he just closed his eyes, sorrow and defeat written all over his face.

As Hawke was led away Danarius grabbed Fenris by his hair and pulled him up. "How splendid." he marveled. "Two birds with one stone." Hadriana smirked, but said nothing.

Danarius motioned for his remaining henchmen to step forward. "Chain him," he commanded, but as they moved to obey he added. "Use caution, this one might try to run, and if he does, you'll all pay."

"Never." Fenris said solemnly, looking the magister in the eyes. "Not while you have Annabelle."

The magister chuckled. "So be it." Then Danarius' men used huge, heavy chains to retrain the elf. The entire time, Fenris glared daggers at the man he'd been running from for so long, who had finally recaptured him.

Annabelle was led aboard a large warship and taken immediately below deck. There was a large Mabari standing in a big wooden cage, with massive paws and even bigger teeth. There were a few elves placing piles of hay in a small cell near the Mabari's cage.

A little blonde elf stood near the open cell door moving aside when the two guards led Annabelle near. The young girl could not have been more than thirteen or fourteen and Hawke saw how thin and pale she was. Despite all her worries about Fenris and what was going to happen to the two of them, and everything she thought she should feel, Belle immediately pitied the young elf, knowing she'd probably never seen life the way a free person had.

She let the guards unceremoniously shove her into the cell, slam the door and lock it behind her. This was when the real tears started coming, and it began to sink in that she was not going to wake up from this nightmare in her bedroom, or drunk at the hanged man surrounded by her loyal friends.

She leaned on the slanted wooden wall at the back of the cell. Upon hearing her cries, the elevn girl who had been silent up until the guards left, spoke up.

"Don't cry…it's all right! " the elf cooed as she knelt to Hawke's level on the outside of the cell. "You're going to be alright, ma vhenan."  
Hawke lifted her head and stopped sobbing for a moment. She scooted towards the girl.

"Here, let me get that off you," the elf offered. She waited, and the Champion leaned forward slightly so the young girl could reach through the bars and untie the cloth bound into Hawke's mouth.

As the tight pressure was released and the cloth fell to the floor, Hawke took a few deep breaths, and sniffled a little. "Thank you, dear…" she thought of Merrill, and the girl calling her 'my love' in the Dalish tongue. "Da'len." she corrected herself and the young girl looked puzzled.

"It's no trouble." the little elf said. She seemed genuinely sweet, and innocent. It was sad, really, that she thought nothing was wrong with her situation. "My name is Orana, what's yours?"

"Hawke." Annabelle managed, before she started crying again. There was a pause, then down the steps from above deck stepped Danarius, followed by Fenris, Hadriana and a helmed guard flanking him.

Fenris' furious expression was replaced with one of pain and hopelessness when he spotted Annabelle, sitting in a pile of hay near the door of the cell. Orana stood up quickly, not looking anybody in the eyes, and she greeted Danarius and Hadriana with a small curtsey.

"Mistress Hadriana, Master Danarius." she did not address Fenris or the guard, but she looked briefly at the guard, her face softening. He nodded to her. It made Annabelle sort of sick to her stomach the way the elf greeted the magisters. If she knew the guard, she was barely even allowed to make eye contact with him, which made her fear for Fenris and herself.

Hadriana nodded to the little elf. "Leave us, slave." she commanded. "We've business to attend to."

Danarius shoved Fenris forward and down onto his knees as the petite elven girl made haste to get above deck. "You, my pet, have a weakness for a pretty face."

Hawke glared at the magister angrily through the bars as he spoke to Fenris like the elf was a small child.

Fenris did not respond. "Answer me, you stubborn fool!" Danarius reached down quickly and slapped Fenris hard across the face, leaving a big red handprint on his cheek. The warrior grunted but said nothing.

"Then we shall flog the rebelliousness out of you!" the magister said. This, whether or not it was his intention, got quite a response from Annabelle.

"No! I haven't watched him heal over the past week only to see his body broken!" she cried, desperately. She hated pleading with the magister, but she felt powerless to protect Fenris otherwise.

Danarius laughed cruelly and all eyes were on Annabelle. "And I do thank you for keeping my pet in top condition and good health. That is the only reason I have not had you killed, but my dear Champion, I have been watching you. And the way you treat him has me quite fascinated indeed!"

Annabelle froze, slightly confused. "Your tenderness, my dear, his quite understandable, noble, even! Ah, but it is sadly misplaced." the magister continued. "Hadriana, go and fetch the whip!"

Annabelle's heart sank. Hadriana went above deck. "No, don't do this!" she cried. Fenris grimaced at the sound of her cries, but he didn't speak. She struggled against the chains binding her hands behind her back, mumbling profanities directed at the magister under her breath, and causing the older man to look at her with amusement in his cold eyes.

Then, finally, Fenris spoke up. "Hawke, I refuse to see you like this! Promise me you'll close your eyes," he said, half begging, because in reality he didn't want her to see him suffer either.

"And you, Danarius, are not to harm her, touch her, or _look_ at her! Because if you do, I swear on my life, _I will kill you!_" Fenris snarled angrily.

**A/N: And so we have the fifth chapter. Danarius is such a prick. He almost reminds me of the Sheriff from Robin Hood BBC, the sadistic…jerk. Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for chapter 6!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Nightmares Should Really Stay in the Fade Re-write**

**Chapter 6**

"Ah, well we cannot have that, now, can we, my pet?" Danarius asked in a rhetorically mocking tone.

The magister pushed Fenris all the way to the floor, which would have been much more difficult if the elf had not been bound with heavy chains behind his back. Annabelle sobbed as Danarius unstrapped the elf's metal chestplate and the back of his leather armor shirt. It was disturbing that even though Hawke had trouble helping Fenris put on the armor earlier that day, Danarius, after all the years his "pet" had been on the run, could easily find and unbuckle all the straps.

Fenris turned his head slightly to face Hawke, but could not find words to console her. He hoped she'd close her eyes and put her mind somewhere far away, somewhere where she could not hear the screams that were to come.

Hadriana returned, a large horsewhip in her hand, and the older magister called for the guard who'd followed them below deck.

"Thirty lashes, no hesitation. I will examine him later to see that you've done what I command. Falter and you will share my pet's fate." Danarius said, as Hadriana handed the helmed guard the whip.

The soldier nodded. "Yes ser. Thirty lashes."

"And then you will put him in the cell with the girl."

"Of course, master." the guard said. Then the two magisters were gone and the guard stretched his right arm, which appeared stiff. He must not have been in the initial fight to capture them, then. Guards all looked the same to Annabelle. Well, except Aveline. She wished she was back at the Hanged Man with all her friends, she missed seeing Fenris content, and surrounded by people who (mostly) cared about him.

Fenris took a deep breath, anticipating the first blow, but it didn't come as soon as he'd expected it.

"Please, don't do this." The guard turned his head to face Annabelle, who addressed him softly, her shiny blue eyes pleading. The guard shook his head.

"Look, if I don't do it, I'll be punished, same as him, and my family will starve. Master Danarius will inspect him, like he said he would, and if Master's not satisfied, I'll pay for it in blood. I'm sorry, I have no other option." The guard sounded rusty in the common tongue, but Annabelle could understand him fairly well, and she definitely could read the sympathy and helplessness in his voice.

She wanted to nod, to say she understood, but she just shook her head and bit back tears, because Fenris' emerald eyes met hers, and she couldn't look away.

"I'm sorry." She was apologizing both to the guard, whom she pitied, despite what he was about to do, because he obviously didn't want to do it, and to Fenris. Fenris closed his eyes.

"Not as sorry as I am." the guard replied.

"Just get it done. I don't need your sorrow, fool. We all do what we must. Hawke, close your eyes, put your mind anywhere but here. I don't want you to see this." Fenris instructed, his voice changing from bitter to soft and melancholy as he addressed Hawke.

The guard nodded and raised the whip. He brought it down on Fenris' back quickly. Fenris grunted throughout the first five or six blows, but it was after the tenth that his screams echoed so loudly below deck that Hawke had to open her eyes. Fenris was bleeding, the bandages from the dragon's attack no longer intact. Annabelle gasped as the guard cracked the fifteenth blow, and then the sixteenth. Fenris cried out, his facial features pained greatly, his angular jaw clenched tightly and his eyes shut. His face was very, very red. His shoulders were braced, entire body struggling against the chains.

The guard also closed his eyes at the twenty-fifth blow. The last five blows were much less severe as the guard grew tired, but he went all the way to thrity.

When he stopped, he unlocked the cell door and pulled Fenris up by an arm. The elf was hanging onto consciousness by a thread. Hawke looked up at the guard with sad, pleading eyes. the man supported Fenris' weight as the elf got as close as he could to Annabelle before he collapsed in her lap, face down.

Hawke leaned forward, frustrated that her hands were still in chains and she sobbed over his torn flesh and weary, injured body.

"Don't weep for me, Hawke, I'm not yet dead." Fenris sounded calm, but his breaths were short, shallow and ragged.

"_I swear, Fenris, I'll kill that bastard." _ Hawke said, after she regained enough composure to say something coherent. She meant it, she wanted her swords so she could at least have a fighting chance against the evil mage, but she couldn't even move, with the combination of the chains and Fenris laying on top of her.

"Gonna pretend I didn't hear that." the guard said as he closed the cell door. "I'm supposed to let the Master know if you two make plans. But…I think I'll let that one slide."

"That was no plan." Hawke said, speaking more clearly than she had since she'd been put in the cell. "_That was a promise."_

**A/N: Sorry for such a long wait. I feel kinda awful that I made a small reference to Monty Python in a very serious moment. YOLO.**


End file.
